Sergei Parajanov (Սերգեյ Փարաջանյան; Сергей Иосифович Параджанов;) was born on the January 9, 1924, in Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR, to an ethnic Armenian family. His father was Iosif Parajanian and his mother was Siranush Bejanian.

In 1945 Parajanov traveled to Moscow and entered the directing department at VGIK, one of the oldest and most highly respected film scho

ols in Europe, and studied under director Igor Savchenko and later Aleksandr Dovzhenko in Kiev, Ukraine. Parajanov moved to Kiev, where after a few documentaries (Dumka (1957), Zolotye ruki (1957), Natalya Ushviy (1957)) and several narrative films (Andriesh (1954), Ukrainian Rhapsody (1961), Tsvetok na kamne (1962)) he created the magnificent "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", which won countless inter

national awards, including the British Academy Award. The success of "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" was compared to

that of the super influential Battleship Potemkin (1925); however, "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" didn't conform to the standards of Soviet cinema and Parajanov was immediately blacklisted.

He left for Armenia to film the documentary Hakob Hovnatanyan (1967), and then in 1968 he created "Sayat Nova", his masterpiece. "Sayat Nova" was banned by Soviet authorities, re-edited and re-named "The Color of Pomegranate". In December of 1973, the Soviet government arrested Parajanov and sentenced him to five years in hard labor camps. A large group of world-famous artists, filmmakers and activists protested and Parajanov was released, but only after having served four horrific years in the Soviet penal system. Poet Louis Aragon's petition to the Soviet government was instrumental in securing Parajanov's release.

The Colour of Pomegranates

Parajanov returned to Tbilisi, but the regime continued to keep him away from cinema. During and after prison Paradjanov created extraordinary collages, drawings and numerous other art works, now frequently exhibited worldwide. In 1984, however, political conditions started to change and, with the help of Georgian intellectuals, the government allowed Parajanov to create the multi-award winning The Legend of Suram Fortress (1986) - 15 long years after "Sayat Nova".

Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors

In 1986 Parajanov made yet another multi-award winning film, Ashik Kerib (1988), based on a tale by Mikhail Lermontov, and dedicated the film to his friend Andrey Tarkovskiy.

The Legend of Suram Fortress

Sergey Prajanov passed away in July of 1990, leaving his final masterpiece "The Confession" unfinished. It survives in its original negative in Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992) by his closest friend Mikhail Vartanov.

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